Numbers 15:39

Numbers 15:39 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
• New International Version (NIV)You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

Context of Numbers 15:39

37The Lord said to Moses, 38“Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them to make for themselves tassels on the hems of their garments throughout their generations, and put a cord of blue on the tassel of each hem. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, so that you do not follow after [the desires of] your own heart and eyes, [desires] after which you used to follow and play the prostitute, 40so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy (set apart) to your God. 41I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Numbers 15:39 word by word

וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֮ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָתֻ֜רוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall be unto you for a fringeצִיצִתtsîytsith · tasselH6734
• that ye may lookרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• upon it, and rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• all the commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• them; and that ye seekתּוּרtûr · to spyH8446
• not afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• your own heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• and your own eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• which ye use to go a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181

Cross-references for Numbers 15:39

• Exodus 13:9It shall serve as a sign to you on your hand (arm), and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the instruction (law) of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 6:6These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind.
• Deuteronomy 11:18“Therefore, you shall impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul, and tie them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead.
• Proverbs 3:1My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments;
• Deuteronomy 29:19It will happen that when he (a renegade) hears the words of this oath, and he imagines himself as blessed, saying, ‘I will have peace and safety even though I walk within the stubbornness of my heart [rejecting God and His law], in order that the watered land dwindles away along with the dry [destroying everything],’
• Job 31:7If my step has turned away from the way [of God], Or if my heart has [covetously] followed my eyes, Or if any spot [of guilt] has stained my hands,
• Proverbs 28:26He who trusts confidently in his own heart is a [dull, thickheaded] fool, But he who walks in [skillful and godly] wisdom will be rescued.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, young man, in your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant in the days of your young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desires of your eyes, but know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.
• Jeremiah 9:14but have walked stubbornly after their [own] heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,”
• Ezekiel 6:9Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be exiled, how I have been broken by their lewdness and their adulterous hearts which have turned away from Me, and by their eyes which lust after their idols; and they will loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed, for all their repulsive acts.
• Exodus 34:15otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the prostitute with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat his sacrifice (meal),
• Psalms 73:27For behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.
• Psalms 106:3Blessed are those who observe justice [by honoring God’s precepts], Who practice righteousness at all times.
• Hosea 2:2Contend with your mother (nation); contend, For she is not my wife and I am not her husband; And have her remove her [marks of] prostitution from her face And her adultery from between her breasts
• James 4:4You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Commentaries on Numbers 15:39

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 37-41Verses 37-41 The people are ordered by the Lord to make fringes on the borders of their garments. The Jews were distinguished from their neighbours in their dress, as well as in their diet, and thus taught not to be conformed to the way of the heathen in other things. They proclaimed themselves Jews wherever they were, as not ashamed of God and his law. The fringes were not appointed for trimming and adorning their clothes, but to stir up their minds by…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-41If the Hebrews had remembered their special relationship with the Lord, they might have avoided the problems in Numbers. The tassels reminded Israel of their unique bond with a holy God and his expectations. He had freed his people from Egypt. Consistent with his call to a covenant relationship, he expected them to observe the law (see Deuteronomy 6:6–9; Matthew 9:20; 14:36; 23:5). The color blue was a sign of royalty, which means kingship or rule. It…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-411-2. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel--Some infer from Nu 15:23 that the date of this communication must be fixed towards the close of the wanderings in the wilderness; and, also, that all the sacrifices prescribed in the law were to be offered only after the settlement in Canaan.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 15:39

• Colors
• Fringes
• Instruction
• Obedience
• Token

In the dictionaries

• Dedicate
• Exodus
• Hem
• Presumptuously
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Fringes
• Genealogy
• Leviticus
• Numbers, Book of

Commentaries on Numbers 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings